Back down the Alaska Highway

July 25^th, 2026

Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

Woke at 8:00 am and sat at the desk for a bit.

Dressed and went upstairs for breakfast, not much options, but had a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, and some orange juice.

Back in the room I then took a nice hot shower and got into the riding gear.

Went outside to remove the cover and there was a misty rain getting everything wet.

I pulled off the cover and laid it out on the bench on the porch, hoping it would dry some as the mist was light and there was a small wind blowing.

Slowly started to bring out the bags and load the bike, and when I was ready for it, put the still wet cover in its bag.  It was drier, but still damp.

About this time, it actually started to rain lightly, so looks like another wet day.  So much for weather reports saying no rain today.

Did a final check of the room, grabbed rest of my stuff and dropped off the key at the desk.

Then out to the bike to put the final objects in their place and zip al the jackets up and get on the bike.

I rode 2 blocks over to the fuel station and filled the tank.  Then messed with the gloves as they were messed up.

The rain gloves I wear are large winter sport gloves that have an outer shell with a light inner lining.  That lining is NOT attached except at the wrist.  This means if any moisture gets in the glove, it makes the lining stick to the hand when pulled out and now its hanging inside out of the glove. 

This can take 5-10 minutes to get back inside the gloves and all the fingers in the correct fingers of the outer shell.  Not sure who at Touratech came up with these, but probably need to rethink the construction.

Once fixed, and all the GPS setup, I got on the road.

It started to rain harder as I left town, and kept up most of the way north, with only a few breaks.  Was also quite cold, temperature hovering in the high 40s (F).

Once I reached the end of the Atlin road, it was a short 1-mile drive on the Tagish highway to reach the Alaska Highway.  Then we turned east to start leaving the area.  This is actually about the only road into or out of this region of the country.

It rained off an on the entire way.  I stopped for a few restroom breaks and then stopped in Teslin to top of the fuel tank as I would not have enough to make my destination on a single tank, especially since I am running a bit faster today due to the cold.  Using fuel at a faster rate.

Stopped again later to connect my helmet intercom to power as I needed to have some music going to keep me alert, but battery was almost out on the intercom.

Once that was sorted, we made good time toward our stop for the night.

About this time the rain stopped and clouds even thinned out and sun was peeking through occasionally.  This let the temps go up around 10 degrees as well, so helped a little with the cold.

I arrived on the edge of Watson Lake at about 3:30pm, so right on time.

My first stop was the famous sign post forest on the edge of town.

The first sign post was supposedly erected by a soldier helping with the construction of the Alaska Highway.  While I have heard it was removed and then put back later, at some point other people started to add to the site. 

The signs are typically license plates or street signs, but all kinds of stuff have been left, from business signs, custom signs and even simple homemade placards.

It is estimated that 90,000 pieces now decorate the trees and poles setup along this corner spot where the Alaska and Campbell highways intersect.

I noticed a few signs from Arizona, including one from the town near where I am staying with my relative.

Once done, I stood at the bike and checked out the hotels in town as I had not booked anything since I was not sure if I would stop or push onward.

I am way too tired to push onward, so will stay here tonight.

There are 4 motel/hotels right along the highway and all right next door to each other a mile down the road.

I decided to just ride down and pick one based on the looks as I would guess they are all about same in costs.

First place which I had looked at a few days ago and thought about looked empty, not a single car.  Now it is early, but still a bit odd, so decided to skip it.

Next place looked abandoned, no cars and even the building did not look right.

Next two places were both larger and had several cars and bikes around.

I chose the last one as it also has a restaurant and small grocery store attached and the parking lot was a bit nicer.

Parked and inquired if they had rooms and then did.  Price was a bit steep, even after converting back to US dollars, but still paying that remote town premium that all rooms have up here.

Unloaded the bike and brought everything in.  Luckily, I am on the first floor and actually have the first room in the hallway (though facing the lot behind, not the one in front where my bike is).

Once done, I walked over to the store to buy a few drinks and snacks and then came back to the room.  I called back home for a bit and snacked while I talked, then I finally changed out of the riding gear. 

Went next door to the restaurant and had dinner.  Good food, and not too horribly priced.

Now we are back in the room to type up the blog, move footage off the cameras and hopefully get some 360-footage converted so I can start editing again soon.

Will figure out what my plans are for tomorrow as I continue south and eastward on the Alaska highway.  It’s a very long ride to reach the end of the highway, so doing it in 1 day would make it a long day on the bike.  But also, not much else between here and there either, so will need to see what my options are.

Might end up going to bed early tonight as well, just feeling drained today.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route: